The movie Black Panther broke many box-office records on its opening weekend ($207 million), and the character is now a new cult superhero. I wanted to take a picture of a panther that did both the animal and the superhero justice.

My preconception was that the key feature had to be the eyes, and I also needed a ground-up perspective. That does tend to be my usual approach, but it meant remote controls, predictive analysis, and considerable distance between my camera and me.

I was in a heavy metal cage to take this image and lying on a bed of mud. My camera was already filthy and in the seconds after this photograph was taken, it was covered in splash water. This all happened before 6.30 am and I was home and in a hot shower before breakfast.

It is all about going the extra mile and doing all one can to be below the eyes of the cat and be in place before the sun gets too high. The rest is down to luck and a small bit of experience working in sports photography. I say that as black panthers move quicker than any athlete I have filmed.